As in "I love the Power Glove. It's so bad."
January 16, 2011 2:29 PM Subscribe
What is the name for the linguistic phenomenon in which a word is used colloquially to mean something in direct opposition to its original meaning? "Bad" is the most striking example, but others would include "nasty," "sick," and "wicked."
I'm not even sure how I'd search for this, so, your help is appreciated.
I'm not even sure how I'd search for this, so, your help is appreciated.
Start by doing searches for "linguistic reappropriation". Most of your results will be about "reclaiming" epithets like "nigger" and "cunt", but if you dig deeper than I just have, you'll find a more precise answer to your question.
posted by pecanpie at 2:39 PM on January 16, 2011
posted by pecanpie at 2:39 PM on January 16, 2011
Semantic inversion works too, though most of the links I'm pulling up talk specifically about its use in African-American English and/or hip hop. Here's a PowerPoint that discusses its use in slang.
posted by nakedmolerats at 2:43 PM on January 16, 2011
posted by nakedmolerats at 2:43 PM on January 16, 2011
There is also "contronym" (again, a neologism)
posted by davey_darling at 2:47 PM on January 16, 2011
posted by davey_darling at 2:47 PM on January 16, 2011
Response by poster: Antiphrasis might just be what I'm thinking of, although I'm not so sure the examples I named are used ironically. I'm thinking of a term that a professor in college mentioned to illustrate this thing, and it was probably Greek, but I've forgotten what it was. (On further reflection I guess I could have put this in the question itself.)
posted by Busoni at 2:51 PM on January 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Busoni at 2:51 PM on January 16, 2011 [1 favorite]
"Amelioration" is the semantic process by which words with negative meanings acquire neutral and positive connotations. It's the opposite of pejoration. Another term in the same ballpark is "contronym," a word that acquires a meaning that is the exact opposite of one it had at some earlier time: consider manufacture, which at one point meant to make by hand.
But those two terms still don't really capture the ad hoc tendency of using "bad" words approvingly. The above terms come from historical linguistics, and your phenomenon is closely tied to contemporary culture. Maybe someone better read in sociolinguistics can suggest a better answer.
posted by Nomyte at 2:52 PM on January 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
But those two terms still don't really capture the ad hoc tendency of using "bad" words approvingly. The above terms come from historical linguistics, and your phenomenon is closely tied to contemporary culture. Maybe someone better read in sociolinguistics can suggest a better answer.
posted by Nomyte at 2:52 PM on January 16, 2011 [2 favorites]
(IANA linguist.) It's a form of verbal irony, too.
posted by gingerest at 7:43 PM on January 16, 2011
posted by gingerest at 7:43 PM on January 16, 2011
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posted by Paquda at 2:32 PM on January 16, 2011